Myles hopes to remain on school board

February 17, 2014 10:03:20 AM

Carl Smith - csmith@cdispatch.com

Starkville School District Board of Trustees President Eddie Myles will submit his letter of intent to again serve on the city school board today and is expected to plead his case for reappointment to aldermen Tuesday.

Myles, who has served on the school board for about a decade, says he wants to hold his seat despite missing a city-issued deadline for such notifications this month.

Mayor Parker Wiseman said he will issue a directive to amend the Tuesday meeting's agenda to include interviews for Myles and Juliette Weaver-Reese, the only resident who submitted a letter of intent, provided Myles follows through with delivering his letter.

Weaver-Reese's appointment, which was marked as a consent agenda item in the agenda published Friday, is expected to be omitted prior to interviews. Myles' seat becomes vacant on March 3, a day before the first board meeting in March.

At least two aldermen, Ward 4's Jason Walker and Ward 5's Scott Maynard, have immediate family connections to SSD and are expected to recuse themselves from the matter.

Myles said he hopes aldermen will consider him again for the position. Many close to the school district and the group that developed the transition plan for Oktibbeha County's upcoming school merger called Myles an integral part of the future after learning of his situation this weekend.

"At this point with us so close to consolidation, I see that as the biggest reason to see this thing through," Myles said Saturday. "We need to keep together the continuity (the school board) has gotten so far in the process."

State-mandated consolidation of SSD and Oktibbeha County School District will occur in July 2015. The city's school board will take over as the presiding body for the Starkville Consolidated School System since the state liquidated the county school board during its takeover.

Legislation currently moving through the State Capitol would make the group, with guidance from OCSD Conservator Margie Pulley and SSD Superintendent Lewis Holloway, responsible for employment contracts during the 2015-2016 academic year.

Out of the five-person SSD Board of Trustees, only Keith Coble's seat is currently an elected position decided by school district residents who live outside of Starkville. The rest are appointed by aldermen. If current legislation holds, a second seat will become an elected position after the two school systems merge.

Weaver-Reese previously ran in the 2009 Democratic Primary for Ward 1's alderman seat. She did not return a phone call this weekend.

Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch